Leaders May Fall
by Feline Valentine
Summary: The flock are in for it. Something happens to Max and, without giving away too many details, it's up to Fang to make it better. Rated T for violence and romance. FAX. BIG twist coming up soon. Keep reading and thank you for the reviews!
1. The Fight That Changed Us All

**This is my first fanfic. It takes place around the 3****rd**** book. Fang's P.O.V. + FangxMax aka FAX.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mentioned in the following fanfic. They belong to James Patterson.**

**Name: Leaders May Fall**

**Chapter Name: The Fight That Changed Us All (Intro.)**

**Note: The intro. will be the shortest of any chapter in this series.**

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_Max! Max, no! Fly, fly, fly! Please, oh, please get back up!_

My thoughts raced as the fight raged on. Flyboys came out of nowhere at every angle. Angel, Gazzy, Iggy, Nudge, even Total... They were all trying their best to fight. But the Flybots had too many. They had taken us by surprise. Max couldn't see…

I could see her body now, tumbling towards the ground at an alarming rate. Why wasn't she waking up?! Punching off one of our attackers, I dove toward my best friend, my leader, my secret love… Suddenly, a sharp pain to my back blacked me out for a moment. I spun around, trying to dislodge the brave Flyboy who dared to get in my way.

"Surrender! Fighting is useless!" it urged, winding its fist back for a punch.

"Shut UP!" I replied, my punch coming faster. It landed square in its face, followed by a satisfying crunch of metal. The Flyboy backed up, covering its new dent, courtesy of my fist. Without hesitating, I gave it a round-house kick, sending it flying back into another one of its comrades. They both spun to the ground, creating a large explosion that left me slightly smug. _Wait until I tell Max… OH NO!_

I spun around, desperately looking for her. _Stupid, stupid, stupid! Leave it to you to get caught up in a fight while Max is falling to her death!_ By now, the battle was leaning in our favor. Angel was just twisting one Flyboy's head to the side while Nudge flew by, baiting another along until she dodged to the right, causing two of the flying machines to crash. Gazzy and Iggy were fighting together, Gazzy shouting different directions to help Iggy along occasionally as they took down two more.

_But no Max…_

The blow to the head shouldn't have hit _that _hard. I had never seen Max get out of a fight so soon… Was she okay? Did she get captured? Or was she off chasing and fighting another set of Flyboys yet to come? The thoughts raced through my mind as I descended towards the ground, my eyes scanning for the crumpled body of Max. I shivered at the image my mind created.

Then, I saw her… And I couldn't believe what I saw…


	2. Dealing With Pain

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mentioned in the following fanfic. They belong to James Patterson.**

**Name: Leaders May Fall**

**Chapter Name: Dealing With Pain**

**This switches between Fang's P.O.V. and Max'x P.O.V. Nothing "FAX" in this one, really. But there will be in the next chapters!**

**Thank you all for your reviews in the first chapter!! **

**Edit: I fixed some errors I found in the story.**

* * *

FANG's P.O.V.

Max was on the ground, her eyes closed. A pool of blood was slowly forming around her like a halo. I clentched my fists together, anger filling my body. How COULD they do this? Max is all but invincible. How did she get taken out by one blow?  
Without wasting any more time, I angled my wings down and glided towards her. The sounds of battle were quickly faded and replaced with the whisper of the trees as I entered the forest. I could hear Nudge calling to me, asking what was wrong. She'd find out soon enough.  
Slowly, I touched my feet onto the ground, a few feet from Max. I didn't understand... I didn't know what to do... I just stared and stared and stared until finally I decided to step forward. Her blood was a sickening sight. It smeared across the forest floor. With shaking hands, I reached down and touched her cheek. It was cold.  
_No, no, no... This can't be happening! Max, you can't die on us... on me._  
I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I jumped when I heard Iggy's quiet voice behind me.  
"What's wrong? I smell blood. Is someone hurt?" he asked, panic straining his voice.  
"Max got hurt. Real bad. She's bleeding all over the place..." Gazzy whispered, clinging to Iggy's shirt. All the little ones; Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy; had tears in their eyes.  
Finally gaining control of my self, I slowly reached under Max's body and picked her up. Her head rolled to the left, revealing the large gash on the left side of her head.  
"Are the Flyboys taken care of?" I asked, looking up to the flock.  
"Yeah, we chased them off..." Angel replied quietly, wiping her eyes with the sleeve of her arm.  
Total whimpered in Angel's arm, his eyes reflecting the saddness that spread through the flock like a wildfire.  
Without another word, I turned and jumped up. Max's hair whipped around as I flapped my wings, bringing us higher and higher until we were above the treetops. I could hear the others behind me, their worry pulsing through the air like sound waves. I could physically feel their pain and it made me sick.  
After checking our position, I turned my wings to the left and flew off towards our hideout that we had been using for this trip.

MAX's P.O.V.

_Ow... My head... Is this another stupid Voice message?_  
I opened my eyes to see Fang's face hanging over me.  
"Ugh..." I mumbled, pushing him away. "Ever hear of personal space?"  
Fang rolled his eyes and sat back, still staring at me.  
"What?" I asked, rubbing my head. Suddenly, I noticed the bandage covering a majority of my skull. "What happened?"  
Fang sighed and rested his hands on his knees and gave me a serious look. "I should ask you the same thing. Don't you remember anything?"  
I blinked at him and thought. "I remember heading towards town to buy supplies... but I never remember reaching there..."  
Fang looked thoughtful, his eyes narrowing. He nodded, then looked back at me. "Well, we were ambushed. Right away, you were hit on your head somehow and you fell 20 feet to the ground. You've got a nasty gash on forehead." He smirked slightly as he slid his finger across his own forehead to show me where I was hurt.  
I rolled my eyes and sat completely up. Suddenly, I felt dizzy. I moaned and laid back down, gripping my head.  
Fang looked at me, concern written on his face. "Max? What's wrong?"  
"It's the gash... It really hurts..." I replied, embarrassed. I was suppose to be the leader, the strong one. And here I was, moaning and gripping my head like some kind of baby.  
Suddenly, I felt Fang's cool hand on my forehead, barely hovering about the gash. "I don't think we have any pain killers..." he mumbled in thought, staring off to his left.  
I shifted my gaze with him. He was looking at the mouth of a cave. It took me a moment to realize that we WERE in the cave. The cave where we were staying, I remembered.  
"Wait... Where is the flock?" I asked, raising my head slightly to look at him.  
Fang pushed me down gently and jerked his head towards the entrance. "They are outside. I told them they could come in only when you're ready for visitors." He smirked playfully, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall of the cave.  
I shot him a glare before calling out their names...


	3. Reunion

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mentioned in the following fanfic. They belong to James Patterson.**

**Name: Leaders May Fall**

**Chapter Name: Reunion**

**Max's P.O.V. Contains FAX. (It will increase as we get further into the story.)**

* * *

Angel was the first to enter, her eyes shining. "Max!" she shouted, gleefully jumping towards me. She sat down and gave me a huge hug around the neck. Total followed after her, his tail wagging so fast I thought it would fall off at any moment. Gazzy and Iggy dashed in next, followed quickly by Nudge. Pretty soon I was covered by the flock, all of them trying to hug me at the same time.  
Fang rolled his eyes and clapped his hands. "Alright, alright. Don't squeeze her to death."  
The flock, all laughing, untangled themselves from me. I smiled at all of them, happy to see that they weren't hurt, spare a few scratches. After the joy of the reunion, it got straight to business.  
"Okay," Fang started, leaning towards me slightly. "Are you sure you don't remember anything about the fight?"  
I could feel every pair of eyes focused on me, waiting for my reaction.  
I closed my eyes and sighed, searching my memory. "No... Wait... I thought I saw... a flash of white...? Or maybe light blue. I'm not sure..." I mumbled slowly, focusing as hard as I could. "Then, a sharp pain... and nothing"  
I opened my eyes and found Fang's face once again _very_ close. For a moment, I held my breath. Both of us just stared with a strange expression. I could feel an odd tingling sensation in my body, almost drawing me closer to him.  
"A flash? I think I saw something like that but I thought it was the reflection of one of the Flyboys," Nudge said, breaking the tense atmosphere. Fang quickly moved away, his eyes avoiding me and instead focusing on Nudge.  
"Yeah! Me too!" Gazzy said, his eyes brightening.  
"What do you think it means...?" Igyy asked, scratching his head in thought.  
No one had an answer.  
I looked over at Fang to see his reaction. His face was calm and collected, not revealing anything. I wish I could copy that look. As if he felt me staring, he locked eyes with me again. My stomach did flips inside me. The lightning that flashed throughout my body returned and for a moment, I could feel myself preparing to get up and move towards him...  
Suddenly, Total's stomach grumbled. "Hey, can we eat yet?"  
Fang rolled his eyes and looked at the dog, breaking the mood once again. "Well, I suppose we should go to town. After all, we ran out of supplies..." He looked down at me, his eyes torn between a decision.  
"Oh, go on without me. I'll be find. After all, we need supplies," I urged, not even glancing towards him. I would have offered to go, but I knew that Fang would be watching me the whole time and I wouldn't want to look into his bright eyes again. "And besides, I have this bleeding wound on my head. I can't exactly walk into the mini-mart without attracting attention, right?"  
Fang nodded, agreeing with my decision. "Alright, Total and Iggy, you stay here with Max."  
Iggy grumbled and kicked the dirt, but he sat down anyways next to me.  
"Sorry," I whispered.  
Iggy shrugged and gave me a tiny smile. "It's not your fault."  
Total curled up under on of my arms and I rolled my eyes.  
Fang checked the flock, going over the escape plan incase something happened, then ran out of the cave and jumped into the sky, the others following. The three of us watched them go, all of us longing to join in. Briefly, I wondered how much they could carry and how much money they had to spend. My attention was elsewhere, so I didn't notice a figure standing in the cave's mouth until I heard Iggy's gasp...


	4. Well, Look Who It Is

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters mentioned in the following fanfic. They belong to James Patterson.**

**Name: Leaders May Fall**

**Chapter Name: Well, Look Who It Is**

**Sorry, sorry, SORRY! I've had a lot of real life things to deal with and I JUST finished rereading Maximum Ride 1, 2, and 3 to get some more muse. And I think I found it! So be prepared for the fourth installment of Leaders May Fall!**

**Max's POV.**

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The figure walked into the cave as if they had no fear in the world. My eyes narrowed and my body tensed, waiting for the shadow to step into the light... _One, two... thr- Oh great!_

Jeb, my father, smiled sadly at me. "Hello Max."

Iggy stiffened beside me, his hands curled into fists. I could tell he didn't enjoy seeing Jeb either. I rolled my eyes and relaxed slightly, but my guard was not down. "Hello, _DAD._ What are you here for? Did I miss some 'father/daughter activity day' or something? Because I don't have you on my calendar."

Jeb's eyes lit with amusement, but his smile was still sad. That's all it seemed to be... "No, Max. I just came here to warn you-"

"About the Flyboys? Sorry, pop. Already got ambushed by them." I pointed up to my forehead, the bandage stained with blood.

His eyes narrowed slightly, then he shook his head. "Then you already know they are the newest batch?"

I rolled my eyes nodded in a way that said "NO FREAKING DUH".

"Max," Jeb scolded lightly. "Please be serious. This new batch is way more advanced than the others. They have a new weapon, something very powerful. By that cut on your forehead, I can tell they already used it on you."

Okay, he had my interest now. But I knew better than to show it. I puffed out a breath of air and raised one eyebrow at him, waiting for him to continue. Iggy, beside me, seemed entirely still...

"This weapon sends a charge straight to the spinal cord and up into your nerves, shutting them down completely. Then, it moves up to the brain and the shock is powerful enough to pass out even the toughest... er, _people_."

I whistled, both eyebrows raised now. "And where is this weapon located on them? I'm guessing somewhere on the arm...?"

Jeb nodded and replied, "Yes. There is a small, circular disc on the palm of their left and right hands. To activate the charge, they must have both of the discs touching the object or else it won't work. You're lucky no one else was grabbed."

Relief washed through my body. I was glad to actually know what happened. Leaving it a mystery would have been worse... "Okay, thanks and all, but what's the catch? Am I suppose to repay you for this information or what?" I turned slightly to look at Iggy, who's eyes narrowed. He was thinking the same thing.

Jeb's smile shrank slightly as he cleared his throat. "Actually, no. I just want you to be safe, Max. You still have to save the world."

Ugh. I was seriously getting annoyed with this "save the world" crap. But hey, someone has to do it. I suppose I'm sort of glad it was me. I wouldn't leave my fate in an _adult's _hands. My train of thought was suddenly broke when Jeb spoke again.

"Max, please listen carefully now." His voice was stressed and slightly panicked and I knew that this was his real reason for coming. "There is a new place called the Warehouse. Just like the School and Hospital, they are creating mutants. I was surprised, though, because I thought they were terminating them all... However, I think their point was to 'start over'..." Jeb shook his head, and continued. "The mutants they are creating aren't like the ones you're used to. Do you remember Omega? He was the start of the new line, the new batch. Anything not close to perfection is immediately terminated. They are creating a new super army, Max. And I want you to stop it."


End file.
